Spend a semester immersed in the culture, history, language and literature of Chile under the direction of a Simpson professor. Work on your language skills while getting to know your Chilean host families. Visit important historical and cultural sites in the Bio Bio Region as well as to the country's capital of Santiago. Offered during the spring semester of even numbered years.

Simpson College’s Spanish-language semester-long study abroad experience for students is based in Concepción, Chile, a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million people approximately 300 miles from Santiago, Chile’s capital city. Chile is a very eclectic country with diverse climates, geographical features and foods. From the Atacama Desert in the north, to the lakes and volcanoes of Patagonia in the south, from the impressive Andes Mountains that run the length of country to the culture of the charming city of Santiago in the center, there is no shortage of intriguing places to explore.All Simpson students, regardless of major, are welcome to participate in this program. Given that Spanish is the language of communication in Chile and the language of instruction at UCSC, participation in the program carries a prerequisite of two semesters of college-level Spanish, or its equivalent. Even this minimal language background will prime participants to make faster linguistic progress in country.

Students on the program take Spanish language courses which help students improve their abilities to communicate in Spanish, both orally and in written form. They also take a Latin American Culture course which will likely carry a GP designation in Simpson’s ECC. All of these courses will be taught by instructors at UCSC. In addition, for 2022, Professor Cesarco Eglin will offer the course, SPAN 290 "Issues of Tension in Chile Today" which will fulfill the Ethics and Values iInquiry (EV) and Intercultural Communications (IC) requirements of the ECC, pending approval. The director will also lead a 2-credit reflection course (required of all Simpson students in the program), which will allow the Simpson group to debrief and help each other better understand the cross-cultural experiences they are having. Simpson students will also be permitted to enroll in regularly offered classes at the University with the instructor’s permission, as per their language level, academic interests, and curricular needs.

Students will live with local host families who provide all of the student’s meals. Additionally, this program offers field trips, excursions, and cultural activities throughout the semester which provide students the opportunity to learn even more about Chile and Chilean culture.
Cost of the program

To participate in the program, students pay their regular Simpson tuition, room and board (as if they were living on campus) plus a program fee of between $2,900 – $3,400. In addition, students are also responsible for covering their air transportation costs to and from Chile which will be approximately $1,700 from Des Moines.

Requirements

Students must take a one-credit hour orientation course during the fall semester preceding the semester in Chile. Students must also have a grade point average of at least 2.5 both at the time of application for the program, and at the time of departure in order to be able to study abroad. And as mentioned previously, students must have successfully completed two semesters of college-level Spanish or its equivalent.

To apply for admission into the program, students should complete the online application, and upload all of the required documents by 4:30pm on Thursday, Apr. 1, 2021:

You will be asked to sign up for a 15-minute interview with the Program Director and the Director of International Education.

Final program payment is due to be paid with Spring Semester tuition, room, and board prior to January 3, 2022.

For more information, contact:
Mark Bates
Professor of Spanish
(515) 961-1827

or

Jay Wilkinson
Director of International Education
Simpson College
701 North C Street
Indianola, IA 50125
(515) 961-1288
toll free (800) 362-2454, ext. 1288